The present invention relates to a photosensitive material processing apparatus, and more particularly relates to an automatic developing apparatus for developing silver halide photosensitive material. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in a solid processing agent replenishing mechanism provided in an automatic developing apparatus. In other words, the present invention relates to a compact automatic developing apparatus in which dissolution work to dissolve processing agent is avoided so that the workability can be greatly improved and excellent moisture-proof effect can be provided to prevent the decomposition of solid processing agent and further excellent photographic characteristics can be stably provided.
After silver halide material has been exposed to light, it is subjected to the processing of development, desilvering, washing and stabilization. Usually, this processing is conducted by an automatic developing apparatus. In this case, a replenishment type developing apparatus is generally employed, in which a replenisher is fed into the automatic developing apparatus. Due to the foregoing replenishment type developing apparatus, the degree of activity of the processing agent in a processing tank can be controlled to be constant.
In the replenishment type developing apparatus, substance that has dissolved out from photosensitive material can be diluted, and components that have evaporated and consumed can be replenished. As a result of replenishment, a large amount of solution overflows and discharges out of the developing apparatus.
In order to process photosensitive materials on a commercial base, it is necessary to reduce the cost and labor. Also, it is necessary to prevent the public pollution. Further, in order to enhance the commodity value, it is necessary to use a processing solution, the amount of which is as small as possible, and it is also necessary that the processing performance is stable and excellent.
In order to meet the demand described above, a method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 119454/1993, by which almost all processing agent components are solidified and directly charged into a processing tank.
However, this method is disadvantageous in that a moisture proof measure can not be appropriately taken. Further, powder generated from the solidified processing agent is scattered and mixed in another processing tank, so that the photographic performance is deteriorated. Consequently, it is urgent to develop technology for solving the above problems.
In a solid processing agent replenishing apparatus for processing photosensitive material, a plurality of tablet type solid processing agents are accommodated in an accommodating container, and the accommodating container is attached to the solid processing agent replenishing apparatus, and an appropriate amount of solid processing agent is charged from the accommodating container into a processing solution tank. In this type solid processing agent replenishing apparatus for processing photosensitive material, when the accommodating container containing the solid processing agent is detached from the replenishing apparatus, at least one tablet or a small amount of solid processing agent is left in a solid processing agent receiving portion of the replenishing apparatus, and it is difficult to remove the tablet of solid processing agent from the receiving portion. Usually, the solid processing agent replenishing apparatus is arranged above the replenishing tank. Therefore, the solid processing agent replenishing apparatus is exposed to a moist atmosphere. Accordingly, when the photosensitive material processing apparatus is not used over a long period of time, the aforementioned residual solid processing agent absorbs moisture and deteriorates, which causes a failure of drive of the replenishing apparatus and further the solid processing agent is not appropriately charged into the processing tank. When this deteriorated solid processing agent is charged into the processing tank, the photographic characteristics are deteriorated.
Solid processing agent charging apparatus are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 119454/1993 and 213454/1992 and Japanese Utility Model Open to Public Inspection No. 179729/1989. However, in these solid processing agent charging apparatus, the solid processing agent remains in the solid processing agent charging section when the operation of the charging apparatus is stopped. In the aforementioned unexamined patents, there is no description of suggesting the object of the present invention.
In the case where the solid processing agent remains in the supply section of the solid processing agent supply device, various problems may be encountered as described above. The present inventors made various investigations into these problems and found the following: In the case where the solid processing agent is not left in the solid processing agent supply section but left in the solid processing agent accommodating container, the solid processing agent functions as a drying agent, so that the overall accommodating container can be maintained in a dry condition. Therefore, the various problems described above can be solved. Even when the solid processing agent is stored in a more severe condition, only the solid processing agent located at a position close to the outlet of the accommodating container absorbs the moisture or is denatured a little, and the solid processing agent in the accommodating container is not changed at all. The present invention has been achieved in this way.
Further, the denatured solid processing agent located at the outlet of the accommodating container is used up at the first charging operation after the stoppage of the apparatus. Therefore, the solid processing agent in the accommodating container does not further absorb the moisture, so that the solid processing agent is not denatured any more. Accordingly, no problems are caused.
In the case of a compressed solid processing agent of high density, that is, in the case of a tablet type solid processing agent, the effect of the present invention can be remarkably provided. In other words, it is preferable to use the tablet type solid processing agent.